MANHATTAN — Life after London will never be the same for Erik Kynard, but it is regaining some sense of normalcy.

Kynard won the silver medal in the high jump at the Olympic Games in London and has now resumed his life as a student at Kansas State.

“Class sucks,” Kynard said Thursday.

That is a typical student reaction, but the student reaction of a Kynard sighting around campus is a big event.

“Campus has been interesting,” he said. “Everybody has been like, ‘Oh, my God!’ I enjoy my fans and I appreciate them a lot, so I have no problem taking pictures and doing all that stuff on campus. It’s kind of hard when somebody jumps in front of you when you have your headphones on.

“I’ve been shown a lot of love, and I’m very appreciative.”

Kynard, a two-time NCAA Outdoor national champion, won Olympic silver by clearing 7-7¾. Ivan Ukhov, of Russia, was the gold medalist with a jump of 7-9¾.

While happy with his performance, Kynard was far from satisfied.

Second place, after all, isn’t winning.

“Honestly, this is something I expected,” said Kynard, the first American male to medal in the high jump since 2004. “I set out to accomplish this — not second, but I set out to win gold, so I expected a lot more. It hasn’t lived up to my expectations because I was second.

“As a competitor, I definitely would like to be the guy with the gold running my victory lap.”

The silver finish hasn’t diminished the praise and public reception he has received. Kynard made national television appearances on NBC’s Today Show from London the day after his event, and upon returning to the United States he was on the Late Show with David Letterman.

“Letterman is cool,” Kynard said. “He loves the high jump. They wanted me to jump but the weather wasn’t permitting that night. I imagine I’ll be back on Letterman in years to come, maybe sooner rather than later. I was invited back.”

A stop in his hometown of Toledo, Ohio, included a parade and the key to the city.

“I got to Toledo straight from New York and the parade was the next day,” he said. “The key to the city could have been expected a little, but I received a lot of awards. I have my own day: August 18th is Erik Kynard Jr. Day in the city of Toledo, Ohio. That’s insane.

“It’s an honor to have such an impact on my community.”

All this adulation hasn’t, and isn’t likely, to go to Kynard’s head.

“I’m not one with a lack of focus. I’m always focused,” he said. “When that plane landed back in the United States, it was a whole different ballgame. I knew what to expect. I knew about Letterman, but on my way back to Manhattan it was all business.”

Kynard still is trying to catch up on his sleep, respond to the constant buzz of his communication devices and settle in at home.

“I have yet to unpack my five suitcases,” he said. “They’re all sitting in the living room. I just got my bed put together, so it’s been wild at my apartment. I need a maid service.”

Kynard will take a break before he resumes training for his short-term goals and the ultimate long-range goal of going for gold at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

“I’ve yet to win the NCAA Indoor national championship,” he said. “That’s something I want to do, and I want to break the NCAA record. I believe it’s there, and that’s what I’m working toward.

“This is a World Championships year in Russia. That will be tough. My last World Championships showing in Daegu (South Korea) wasn’t the best. I didn’t make the final but I’ve progressed rapidly, from not getting in the final in Daegu to getting the silver medal in the Olympic final.”

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